April 4, 2010 - Head Start

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

As soon as the winter’s snow melts, the leathery green leaves of hepatica start gathering sunlight to give this early spring wildflower a head start. While other plants have yet to grow leaves, hepatica’s evergreen leaves are already using the sun’s energy. These three-lobed leaves give hepatica its energy boost. So it should come as no surprise that hepatica blooms well in advance of other wildflowers. Its blossoms range from bluish purple to white to pink. Each is supported by a hairy, leafless stem. The fuzzy hairs protect the plant from cold temperatures. Hepatica flowers close at night and don’t open on cloudy days. This safeguards both the blossom and the precious pollen from frost, snow and rain. This early spring wildflower is a harbinger of a forest waking from winter.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.